SKINS (MTV) “Stanley” Review

SKINS (MTV) "Stanley" Episode 5 - I had been grumbling for the past few weeks about how the acting in Skins had failed the writing which had playful elements in it that ended up being buried in bad comedic timing. In tonight’s episode of Skins, which followed Stanley’s story, there were moments that fell into place nicely and I found myself laughing aloud.

The humor starts right away with Stanley in a parent-teacher meeting staring at a fly on the wall and being smacked back to reality. Daniel Flaherty who plays Stanley, is not necessarily a strong comedic actor, but there’s something about the way he holds himself and the way he looks at everything around him with a dumbfounded stare that makes things funny when they happen to him or around him.

Of all the families we’ve met so far, I’d say Stanley has the most normal home life. His dad may be misguided in his ideas about raising a teenager and his mom may be a little too lenient, but they both have a sincere interest in Stanley’s future. As a result, we see that unlike most of his friends, Stanley’s drinking, smoking and drug use are not decisions made to fill a void left by his parents. Instead, all of his screw ups are a result of him being easily influenced by the pressures of his peers, particularly Tony. Read More...